Monday, June 15, 2015

June 15 - Kirk Kerkorian Dies At 98

Billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, who built Las Vegas' biggest hotels, has died. He was 98.

In 1967, he bought 82 acres (33 ha) of land on Paradise Road in Las Vegas for $5 million and, with architect Martin Stern, Jr.,[11] built the International Hotel, which at the time was the largest hotel in the world; The first two performers to appear at the hotel's enormous Showroom Internationale were Barbra Streisand and Elvis Presley. Presley brought in some 4,200 customers (and potential gamblers), every day, for 30 days straight, breaking in the process all attendance records in the county's history. Kerkorian's International Leisure also bought the Flamingo Hotel; eventually both hotels were sold to the Hilton Hotels Corporation and were renamed the Las Vegas Hilton and the Flamingo Hilton, respectively.

Three Memphis Attractions

Elvis Presley™ is known and loved around the world as the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll™, and now his legendary Memphis home, Graceland, was voted #1 in USA TODAY’s 10Best Readers’ Choice contest for “Best Musical Attraction” from a field of iconic music-themed landmarks. As 10Best describes the win, “After four weeks of voting, one legendary attraction won the title of Best Musical Attraction by a landslide: Graceland.” Elvis Presley’s Graceland was voted into the top spot by readers of USA TODAY, who were asked to cast their online ballot for their favorite global music attraction from a pool of 20 museums, memorials, historic studios and epic record stores originally selected by 10Best’s travel experts and journalists. Voting began on May 11 and ran through noon EDT June 8, 2015.

Based on the number of votes cast, 10Best announced that Graceland was a “clear favorite with our music-loving readers,” in their voting recap, which is music to the ears of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. CEO Jack Soden. “This honor confirms what our guests from around the world have been telling us for years — that Graceland is a must-see destination, not only for Elvis fans, but for anyone who appreciates music and history. We have a rich story to tell here at the King’s castle, as we honor Elvis’ legacy and celebrate a music and pop culture revolution that started right here in Memphis, Tennessee,” said Soden.

(Source: WikiPedia / Graceland)